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Reviews
Come Back to the 5 & Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (1982)
Another gem from Bob (RIP)...
Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean has to be one of the best Altman Films currently unavailable on DVD. After scouting the internet I located a VHS copy and have thrashed it since. A small ensemble cast, innovative direction and flawless performances, including a stand out from Cher, a nostalgic soundtrack, this film transports you to another time and place. Deserving of critical praise and certainly deserving of re-release Altman makes superb use of a single exquisitely detailed set to move you through different time frames, culminating in the last shot which sees the Five and Dime store, deserted and ghostlike. (A device he repeated in his last film, A Prairie Home Companion). The vivid, painful human performances are set against the films themes, which are about the loss of youth, mortality and the passage of time.
Gun: All the President's Women (1997)
The best bullet in the chambers...
The only one of the GUN series actually directed by Robert Altman, this acerbic film contains much of Altman's much commented style with references to Bill Clinton's presidency. This is fairly obvious through the philandering antics of the President Bill (Randy Quaid) of a prestigious country club, which is largely managed by his wife, Darryl Hannah. Easily the best of the GUN series Altman manages to make a small film into a larger film that recalls Tanner 88 and Tanner on Tanner. Usual Altman symbolism (snakes,women in white etc)prevail and add depth but you will only get them if you know his other films. An excellent film which transcends its format limitations.